


The Marketplace

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: M/M, Season 6B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 16:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20361880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: The Doctor and Jamie enjoy their day off.





	The Marketplace

**Author's Note:**

> on [tumblr](https://the--highlanders.tumblr.com/post/187210530816/the-marketplace).

Glancing around himself nervously, Jamie fought the impulse to press himself closer to the Doctor, instead forcing himself to take a step away. Too many people had given them disapproving looks already for him to risk walking too close as they approached the heart of the citadel. “Are ye sure we should be here?”

“Of course!” The Doctor spun in a joyful circle as he walked, beaming up at the burnt orange sky above them. “It’s our day off. No missions, no pompous CIA agents telling us what to do, and the whole of Gallifrey at our fingertips.”

“Aye, but...” A tall figure dressed in immaculate red robes swept past them, looking over them disdainfully as they went. Jamie tugged at the hem of his kilt awkwardly, but the Doctor seemed not to notice. “We dinnae really look like we belong here.”

“No, we don’t,” the Doctor agreed cheerfully. He reached up towards the trees that arched across the wide road, plucking a waxy leaf and tucking it behind Jamie’s ear. “That’s half the fun.”

“Maybe for ye,” Jamie grumbled, but he stepped closer to the Doctor again, wrapping his arm around his waist. The contact settled the ball of worry in his stomach, and he relaxed his shoulders, looking around the street properly for the first time. “I’m no’ so keen on being stared at like we’re doin’ something wrong.”

“Don’t worry. I’m taking you somewhere a little more open-minded.” The Doctor gestured around them, taking in the intricate mosaics laid out beneath them, the buildings with their upper storeys hanging over the road, the bustling crowds of people all dressed in the same shade of red. “Besides, we’re in the ancient city of Prydos. This is the home of my chapter – and yours, too, since we’re married.” He nodded towards Jamie’s kilt. “And you’re in the right colour for the occasion, aren’t you?”

Jamie stopped dead in his tracks, pulling the Doctor to a halt beside him. “This is where you’re from? Why didn’t ye tell me earlier?”

“Well – not here, precisely, but -” The Doctor tapped his finger against his lips thoughtfully. “Near here somewhere, yes.”

Grinning, Jamie surveyed the people around them with fresh interest. His gaze settled on a gaggle of children, all quiet and serious until one tugged on another’s robe, setting them off into a squabble. “Did ye come here? When ye were a kid?”

“Ah – yes, I suppose I did.” The Doctor waved his hand uncertainly, setting off again at a brisk pace as if trying to run away from the question.

“Hey!” Jamie broke into a jog to keep up with him. “What’s the use of bringin’ me tae your old home if you’re gonnae be all mysterious about it?” He nudged the Doctor’s side, laughing. “I bet ye were a cute kid.”

The Doctor snorted. “I’m not so sure about that. I think I must have set some sort of record for inspiring my teachers at the Academy to retire prematurely. And I haven’t brought you here just to see my old home, you know.”

“Why have ye brought me here, then?”

The Doctor turned a corner so sharply and suddenly that Jamie was almost left behind, standing awkward and lost in the middle of the street before the Doctor caught his hand and pulled him on. They turned again, hurried down a twisting lane, and emerged in a large square, its grand expanse edged with overhanging buildings and crammed with stalls. Items of all kinds crowded the shelves and counters, spilling over onto the ground. Most of it was entirely alien to Jamie, but some of the wares were vaguely familiar to him, and a few even looked as if they came from Earth.

The centre of the square was taken up with a great hologram that flickered between galaxies and stars and plants, with the occasional tangle of circles that passed for writing on Gallifrey. A crowd of Gallifreyans was clustered around it, pointing towards the writing and talking amongst themselves. Jamie wondered briefly if the hologram was listing products for sale, or perhaps their prices, but found himself too distracted by the people to dwell on it. They seemed more relaxed than elsewhere in the city, standing closer and closer together, their uniforms looser and more varied.

When he glanced over at the Doctor, his face was filled with a rapture he had only seen a handful of times before.

“The Prydonian markets,” he said, breathless with excitement. “Best markets on the planet. Gallifreyan traders can go anywhere in time and space, and most of what they bring back ends up here.” He paused, leaning forwards to survey the stalls closest to him. “There, see – spices from seventy-second century Venus, carvings from the Hyxn cluster, a complete copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh...” He dove into the fray, leaving Jamie standing startled on the outskirts, and emerged a moment later with a pair of intricate glass vials, each holding a fizzing, pinkish liquid. “The elixir of life, taken directly from the sacred springs on Vidajh Minor. Guaranteed to make you feel three regenerations younger.

Taking one of the vials, Jamie shot him an incredulous look. “Is it real?”

“Hm?”

“The elixir of life. Does it really work?”

The Doctor laughed, downing the liquid in his vial. “Not at all.” He took Jamie’s elbow, leading him on a meandering path through the square. “But – ah – it has a marvellous flavour. It used to be quite the treat, when I was at the Academy.”

Jamie frowned down at his drink, then took a cautious sip. “It’s a wee bit like strawberries, isn’t it?” Linking his arm through the Doctor’s, he gazed out at the hive of activity that surrounded them. Merchants displayed their wares eagerly, currency of all shapes and sizes was passed around, and the silent fog that seemed to lie over the rest of the city was lifted. It was a livelier and friendlier place than Jamie had ever seen on Gallifrey, and he wondered if the Doctor had thought the same, when he was a child. “Hey, did ye pay for these?”

The Doctor scowled at him a touch too indignantly. “Of course I did.”

“Of course ye did.” Smiling to himself, Jamie decided to tactfully change the subject. “I thought your people didnae believe in interferin’ with other planets?”

“Trading and interfering are – ah – two quite separate things,” the Doctor explained. “The traders take precautions when they visit pre-contact times, and border control scans each product to make sure nothing of temporal significance is brought in. They say a shipment of Earth fruits had to be sent back once, because the trader had brought in the apple that started the fourth Martian revolution.” He lowered his voice, leaning in closer to Jamie. “I don’t know if that story is true, but I do know that I was the one who threw the apple.”

Jamie laughed, shaking his head. “I wouldnae have thought people here would buy this stuff, though. It’s no’ like they’re keen on me being here.”

“Well, buying something from another world and having an alien neighbour are two different things, too,” the Doctor pointed out. “Most of the people here haven’t ever left the planet, let alone our system. The chapters’ markets were a convenient way of giving people something exotic without them having to leave Gallifrey.” They crossed the street to lean against the railing that bordered it, looking out over the city as the land fell away beneath them. The Doctor smiled wistfully, staring out across the endless plain below the great mound of the city. “But it was never enough for me.”

“Aye, I can imagine,” Jamie said softly. “An’ I cannae imagine that you’re too happy tae be back.”

The Doctor glanced around them surreptitiously, clearing his throat. “Well – of course not. I’d rather not be doing their bureaucratical work. And it’s true, I don’t get along with other Time Lords – but Gallifreyans, that’s quite another matter. The planet isn’t entirely full of dusty old aristocrats, you know. I just couldn’t stand to be one of them.” He nodded back towards the markets. “I know we can be rather – ah – difficult to live with, but I’d like for you to be happy here.”

Jamie bumped his shoulder against the Doctor’s. “’Course I’m happy. Ye know I’m happy so long as I’ve got ye.”

“Well – yes, of course I know that.” The Doctor twisted his hands together, looking a little flustered. “But it doesn’t hurt to make sure, does it?” He fell silent for a long, thoughtful moment. “I suppose I needed something of a reminder, too. That there’s still something beautiful here.” He pushed himself away from the railing, turning to trot back towards the markets. “Come on,” he said over his shoulder, his nonchalance a jarring change from his earlier seriousness. “I’ll get you another elixir of life.”

“Aye, alright. So long as ye pay for them this time.”


End file.
